Like Montgomery Clift with a shotgun
by The Cell
Summary: Mike decides Blaine is going to be his new best friend.
1. Chapter 1

Right. I don't know where this came from exactly, but I think it's the fact that I've watched You Should be Dancing too many times and have now decided Blaine and Mike need to be besties.

Also I obviously don't own it.

* * *

"Blaine! Wait up." Michael Chang Jr was running down the hallway and Blaine stopped and turned to admire, with no small amount of jealousy, how he managed to move at that speed through a crowded hallway with the amount of grace he did. "Are you ok?"

He put on his practiced Warbler smile, the one he wore for all his performances. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Look, I don't know what happened between you and Kurt, but obviously something did. You haven't come to glee since your first week, and Artie said you didn't want to come to game night and you signed up for a bunch of clubs but you never showed up."

Blaine stared at him, slightly confused. "How do you know all of this?" When Mike shot him a nervous look he regretted saying it.

"Well you're not talking to Kurt, or he's not talking to you or whatever, you're not on speaking terms, so I'm assuming it has to do with him. Artie actually did tell me about game night and that you haven't signed up to audition for the play, which you should have by now, and obviously I noticed you weren't in glee. I'm captain of Brainiacs and Mathletes so I know you signed up for those and when you didn't show up I checked with some of the other clubs and the fencing team in particular are crushed you never showed. They haven't won anything ever and apparently you're some big name on the circuit or something, sorry, I don't follow the sport, but they said to tell you if I talked to you."

"Wow." He wasn't sure if he was more surprised that Mike had found all of this out, or that he was speaking so much. Blaine didn't think he'd heard Mike speak, and from what Kurt had said he rarely ever did.

"So...wanna talk? I mean I know you don't know me that well or anything but I feel like...I mean...we're friends right?" Blaine didn't know that they were, but he was pretty sure he would want to be friends with someone like Mike.

Mike's unsure expression told him he'd been staring and not answering for too long again. "Sure. I mean yeah, of course."

"Great." Mike hooked his arm through Blaine's and started walking and Blaine panicked slightly. Had Mike taken the sure to mean he wanted to talk? Blaine did not want to talk, he wanted to go home and wallow in misery for an hour before work. Were they going to the choir room? He was not prepared to deal with Kurt yet. "Don't worry, we're not going to glee." Blaine breathed an audible sigh of relief before turning back to Mike.

"Ok, if we're not going there where are we going? I really don't want to talk about Kurt and shouldn't you be going to glee?"

"Nah, they'll be fine without me. It's mostly ballads this week, not a lot of dancing to be done."  
Blaine shot him a look. "Aren't you singing a ballad, to Tina? You're dating right?" He was almost sure that was the case.

"Yeah, we are. I don't really sing though." Mike shifted slightly and Blaine wondered if he would be overstepping the lines of their new friendship if he pushed the subject.

"Why?" His mouth seemed unconcerned with that possibility.

"I'm not very good at it." Blaine very definitely didn't snort at that, but Mike looked at him like he probably heard the not-snort.

"Sure you are. I mean you're not Rachel Berry, but she's had a vocal coach longer than she's had teeth. You're pitchy sometimes and you need to learn to control your breathing, especially with the way you dance, but you're better than most of the Warblers were when they started. I was basically next to you for most of the song during _you can't stop the beat_ and you've clearly been working."

Mike looked at him like he didn't quite believe him. "You heard that?"

"I'm good at isolating sounds, violin is a great ear-trainer." He waved his hand dismissively. "The point is, you're good, and you could get a lot better."

"Tina worked with me over the summer."

Blaine beamed up at him. "Well she does good work. If you want to work on your breathing I learned some neat tricks from David."

"Are you trying distract me to get out of hanging out with me?"

"No! I would love to hang out with you."

"Great. Relax dude, I'm not going to make you talk about Kurt. I am probably going to make a plea for the Brainiacs though because seriously dude we need you, I saw your GPA, don't worry I'm not actually stalking you, I do filing in the office for extra credit. Kurt's not going to be going anywhere near that so he's totally not an excuse."

"Right, um yeah, I'll think about it. Listen I was kind of going to head to work."

"Cool, I'll drive you, where do you work?"

"Um, at Pete's."

"That coffee place?"

"Yeah."

"So why do you hang out at the Lima Bean?"

"Kurt really likes it. Between you and me though, their coffee is too bitter, I need a shot of cinnamon in it."

"I won't tell the Beanies."

"Beanies?"

"People who drink coffee from the Lima Bean. They're kind of manic about it. Come on, we wouldn't want you to be late."

"I don't start for about an hour, I just do my homework there before I start. Pete feeds me cookies."

"Great."

"You say great a lot."

"Maybe."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I know I've been snappy and abrasive."

"Dude, it's fine, now get in the car, I want cookies."

* * *

Mike was still holding the door open when someone yelled across the room. "Anderson! I need you to try this thing." It was an older man (Pete presumably), behind the counter.

Blaine made his way over quickly with Mike trailing close behind. "What is it?"

The man shrugged and pushed the plate toward him. "I don't know, some kind of pastry. Charlotte made it. Who's your friend?"

"Mike Chang. Mike, this is Pete, my boss."

"Yeah, nice to meet you kid, eat this." He slid a second plate over the counter to Mike who obligingly took a bite of the chocolate...thing.

"This is good."

"Good like you don't hate it or good like I should put it on the menu?"

"Totally the second one, do you have more of these?" He pulled out his wallet, ready to buy a few for his mother.

Pete pulled out a box. "Help yourself kid, won't be selling them today anyway, she said she needs to work on the presentation before they're ready for the public. Homework done yet Anderson?"

"No, we just got out."

"Get to it then, can't let those grades slip." He waved them off with a chequered towel toward a booth in the back, handing Mike the box of pastries.

"He seems nice."

"Yeah, he's a great guy."

"So...why do you suddenly not want anything to do with anyone at school?"

"It's not that I don't like everyone, it's just...McKinley is Kurt's school. I'm just his ex-boyfriend. Can we just leave it at that?" That was clearly stupid.

"Fine man. I won't ask any more questions. But it's your school too, you've got to know that. If you can't feel comfortable, why not go back to Dalton? I mean everyone there practically worshipped you, I saw a brochure, you're their _actual_ poster boy. You still have to keep in touch though, I heard you're good at Black Ops, and I need to defend my title as ultimate ruler of the Call of Duty Universe. I know that was another question but you don't have to answer. Seriously you can just tell me to shut up if I'm getting too in your face." Mike realized he kept rushing but he really wasn't used to being the one carrying a conversation and pissing off Blaine now would really put a damper on his new plan to make them best friends. Pissing off Blaine in general would kind of suck because Blaine had a mean puppy dog look and Mike was not confident in his ability to withstand it.

If the grin Blaine sent him was any indication he didn't need to worry just yet. "That sounds swell. CoD night I mean." And yeah, Blaine also said stuff like swell with no irony and that was maybe a part of why Mike had decided that Blaine was going to be his new best friend. Mike really liked movies from the 50's and he was pretty sure Blaine was in some of them. Blaine was looking down at his biology book. "I can't go back." It took Mike a second to snap out of his daydreaming about Blaine singing _Luck be a Lady_ while stabbing people (Blaine would totally be a stabber, not a sniper), and realise he was talking about Dalton and the big grin was gone again.

"Sure you can, if you want to. I mean we'd miss you, but if you're happier there..." He didn't actually know how many people would miss Blaine, because he didn't actually see him speaking to anyone, but he was pretty sure Rachel already missed him coming to glee from her incessant chatter about the duets she had planned for them and two people was enough to justify his use of the plural.

"No, I mean I can't go back. I don't have the money." Well...that was not what Mike had expected. Blaine was rich...right? He'd been at the school for years already and he'd been wearing the uniform at the start of term.

"But you already go there, why not just ask your parents?"

"Anderson! Can you get started? We're filling up and that girl's school lets out soon." Blaine looked way too happy about the interruption for Mike's liking. What had happened that meant Blaine couldn't go to Dalton anymore?

"Sure thing Pete. I should get to work. Thanks for the ride. It was nice talking to you, we should do it again sometime." Mike blinked at him.

"Of course." Blaine walked over to the stage, well dais, and grabbed the battered acoustic guitar, taking a seat on the stool and adjusting the mic stand. When Blaine started playing Mike was surprised. Firstly he'd been pretty sure Blaine's job would be getting people coffee, not singing, because how cool was that as an actual job? And secondly he'd heard Blaine sing before, he knew he was good, but Blaine sang Katy Perry and Tom Jones, not cool indie stuff Mike thought Tina might have played at some point this summer. Blaine was apparently made for sitting around strumming in cool coffee shops, with 20-something hipsters looking very determinedly unimpressed, because he looked comfortable in a way Mike had never seen him. Blaine Anderson was confident on any stage, and usually in person as well, but he never looked that comfortable.

Mike was torn. He'd clearly been dismissed, Blaine didn't expect him to stay, but Mike kind of wanted to. He decided he wasn't going to stay for Blaine's whole...set? shift? but it was totally normal for him to grab a cup of coffee while he was here, and if he didn't drink it all that fast then that had nothing to do with the curly-haired teen currently diving into a song Mike only vaguely recognized as one of Bob Dylan's older works. He headed over to the counter.

"So, Blaine tells me your coffee is much better than the Lima Bean."

"Of course he does, he's a sweet kid."

"He's nice alright. How long has he been working here?"

"He came in with some Dalton boys when he was a freshman there. He used to come and play once a week or so, but what with what happened...well you can see him here most days now. He usually plays some of his own stuff later on if you're planning on sticking around, or he spazzes out and starts playing music from old Nintendo games, could go either way." Pete shook his head fondly. "He's doing wonders for the hipster cred of this place though, I still can't believe nerdy became cool. Between Starbucks and the Lima Bean the hipsters are the only ones in this town that don't have a coffee place they're happy with. Also he attracts the girls from Crawford like flies to honey. Like I said, sweet kid, weird dress sense though."

"Hey, don't hate on the sweater vest." Mike pointed out his own.

"Oh I'm not, but yesterday he wore a cardigan over a sweater vest over a shirt. It's September. Also I'm pretty sure that is a green bow tie with pink roosters on it." It actually was, Mike had spent an inordinate amount of time in calculus that morning making sure he wasn't just imagining it.

He felt like he should defend Blaine anyway. "Whatever man, he can rock a bowtie."

"I'm not saying he can't, I'm just saying it's weird." Pete raised his hands in surrender.

"Ok yeah maybe it's a bit weird, but it's mostly awesome right?"

He chuckled and shook his head, looking over at Blaine again. "Whatever you say kid. So you're from his new school? How's he doing? New friends? How's the boyfriend?"

It was times like these Mike wished he hadn't let Tina convince him to talk more. People never used to ask Mike things, especially things Mike didn't know if he was allowed to talk about. "Um...I don't know?"

Pete raised an eyebrow at him, looking amused. "Ok, let's start with something easier. Do you go there?"

"Yeah."

"And you're friends?"

"I hope so. I mean we haven't really talked much before, but he's pretty cool."

"Right, and by the panic I'm assuming the answers to the rest of those questions aren't going to be good."

"Um."

"Don't worry, you're safe, I'm not going to confront him about his issues. I was just checking in."

"It's not that you know...It's just..."

"Not your place, I get it. Now, were you actually going to order or are you going to take his word about the coffee?"

"Yeah, to be honest I don't know much about coffee, what do you suggest?"

"Well, Anderson is a French roast fan, sometimes with a shot of something, always drip and always a medium, because he drinks too slow for any other size. Do you drink a lot of coffee?"

"Well yeah, but none of those words actually mean anything to me. I drink whatever comes in the green packets at the store."

"Ok I'll tell you what, we're making a scorecard."

"A scorecard?"

"Yup." Pete had grabbed a menu and started scribbling on the back of it. He grabbed a stack of the tiny post its Mike used to mark up his text books and wrote something on two of them.

"GS, DFRHV. I am actually more confused now."

"We are going to find your coffee order, you'll be going to college in what, two years tops?"

"One."

"Right, you need to know this by then. GS, grocery store, you can fill in the brand later if you want to, DFRHV, drip, French roast, hazelnut vanilla, that is my first guess. Sliding scale. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now here is yours, and here is his, go give it to him."

"Right, um, how much do I owe?"

"Nothing for today, consider it my charitable act of the day, I can't let you keep drinking Wal-Mart coffee forever." Mike fiddled with his wallet. "Look, try the coffee, if you like it, leave a tip, I really don't pay that kid enough and god knows hipsters don't tip. Pay through the roof, but never tip."

"Right." He casually strolled over to where Blaine was playing, setting the cup down next to the water bottle on the tiny table.

"Michael Chang Jr you are my hero." He took a long sip and gave a deep, contented sigh before he turned back to his audience. "This man, no this angelic bringer of coffee, god amongst men, is Mike Chang, and he dances like a boss. He'll tell you he can't sing, but he lies!" Blaine tutted and shook his head. "So Mike Chang, will you dance for us? Come on." Mike didn't really dance in front of people that weren't in glee, unless he was with the other kids in the club. "Come on, you know you want to. Let's get this party started." Mike was about to protest, out loud this time even, when Blaine launched into a song that was distinctly more upbeat.

_I came here to make you dance tonight_  
_I don't care if I'm a guilty pleasure for you_

Mike took in the grinning face of his friend and the applauding of the young girls who had now found their places and he couldn't help himself. He hopped onto the nearest empty table. As he started moving he rolled his eyes at himself. He had the distinct feeling this would not be the last time he did something mildly embarrassing to keep a smile on the junior's face. He briefly wondered how Blaine managed to sing through a smile that wide but dismissed the thought and lost himself in his impromptu show.

"Sorry girls, he has a girlfriend, and she's adorable." Mike heard a strange mix of giggles and groans. "I know right, how do you think I feel? I'm not even the right sex?" It was an innocuous thing to say, but the way he said it was anything but. Mike was fairly certain Blaine had no interest in him at all as a potential romantic interest, so the dip in his voice and the stress on the last word was entirely for the benefit of the giggling girls. It was almost impressive how he managed to both flirt and declare himself gay in the same sentence. Strike that, Mike thought as he looked back at the group of girls, adoring looks still fixed on Blaine as he tuned his guitar, it was definitely impressive. These girls knew Blaine had no interest in them and yet Mike was pretty sure if he crooked a finger they would come running. It was unfair that power like that was wasted on someone who had no use for it. If Mike had that kind of confidence he could have asked Tina to the junior high prom and she would have said yes. As it was Mike had struggled to muster up the courage to ask her to the end of summer dance at Asian camp as friends, even though they were both required to be there.

Mike did end up staying until Blaine stopped playing, but in his defence he did do his chemistry homework as well. Studying in coffee shops was totally legitimate (he had never done it before, but people totally did that), and he was in no way creepily stalking the guy he had declared himself friends with. Tina agreed. He had worried after about an hour that he was actually being really weird and Blaine was just too nice to tell him to leave (he hadn't seemed entirely sure about the whole friends thing after all), and had subsequently started a text conversation with his girlfriend that turned into a pep talk from her side and ended with him promising to film a few songs for her. She hadn't commented on him leaving before glee and he wondered how obvious he was being in his disapproval of the other members' attitudes.

"So what did you think?"

"I think we could have used you when we were doing original songs last year. I didn't know you wrote music."

"I love music."

"Yeah that bit I knew, as does everyone who's ever seen you perform. Also, Tina says she wants a song for her birthday now."

"We could write one together!" That was totally approval for the friendship idea Mike decided as Blaine started throwing lyric ideas at him and internally declared phase one of 'operation epic bromance' a rousing success. He then internally declared himself a dork, but reasoned that Blaine had just quoted a Disney movie and made a Super Mario reference in the same sentence so he thought he was probably ok. He also fleetingly wondered if the hipster fan base Blaine had apparently built up knew Blaine's bowties and Nintendo themes weren't in any way ironic.

"And it obviously has to be danceable, because that's where you speak loudest." Mike tuned back into the conversation and found that his chemistry notebook had been commandeered and Blaine had filled the last page with random lines of text with arrows and chords. "Sorry, I just totally spazzed out didn't I? We don't have to write a song."

"We should so write a song. I just spaced." Blaine beamed at him again and kept firing ideas at him until his mother called and demanded he come home.

"I have to go, sorry. Do you need a ride?"

"No, I'm fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

Ok. Part two. I still don't own Glee...

* * *

Mike found himself staring at Blaine punching the bag in the weight room like it had killed his puppy and tried to figure out how to make him share without jeopardizing his plans by making Blaine avoid him. He finally went for the not too invasive: "Who turned you into Tyler Durden today?"

Blaine spun around to face him. "Look, I know you're just being nice and all, but you really don't have to hang out with me. I mean I don't want to cause any unnecessary tension and the New Directions are your friends." What? What did that even mean? Why would Blaine be causing tension? Finn had gotten in a strop, but that was obviously just insecurity and Mike being friends with him outside of glee wouldn't matter. Even Kurt didn't seem mad, he just looked awkward and occasionally a bit guilty when he saw Blaine in the halls.

"So are you. Relax, they're not going to lynch me for hanging out with you. They like you. I mean yeah, most people are taking Kurt's side of whatever happened with the two of you, because no one knows what it was and we've known him longer and all. I am actually allowed to have friends outside of glee club." It felt weirdly like this was turning into a fight.

Blaine looked stricken, clearly upset that he had offended Mike. "Of course you are! I didn't mean to imply...I just. I don't think Kurt's very happy about it, or Finn." Blaine's reluctance to accept their inevitable epic bromance would be more offensive if he didn't seem so legitimately worried about Mike's other relationships suffering.

Mike slung an arm around his shoulders, casually moving them toward the changing rooms. "Luckily they don't really govern my opinions on people. Besides, the only one that would cause any real kind of problems for me is Tina and she thinks you're adorable." She had actually gushed about the video clips he'd sent her for quite a while. "For the record, even if she did have an issue I wouldn't just drop a friend." He might if she set an ultimatum, but she would never do that, it was one of the many things he loved about her.  
"Now shower and get dressed. My mom wanted more of the chocolate things so I'm taking you to work." Blaine quickly made his way into the showers while Mike checked his own locker for the blue socks he lost the previous week. "So are you going to tell me who you were pounding in there?" He called out over the sound of running water.

The water shut off and Blaine came back in, shaking his head and running a hand through wet curls. "Homophobic assholes of my past and present."

"Is someone giving you a hard time?" They weren't going to let that happen again. Not after Karofsky got to Kurt so bad he switched schools. Definitely not to Blaine, who had apparently switched to Dalton for similar reasons.

"No actually, not really. I mean they made it pretty clear they weren't going to be naked in here while I was here, but to be honest I can do without seeing that, and this place smells marginally less rank when they're not in here so that's pretty much fine. It's nothing on what I had back when I first came out. It just gets to me that they refuse to learn. I thought I was ready to face this again when I transferred here but I've just been so spoiled at Dalton where no one cared. It was somewhere to escape to."

"Do you have curly hair?"

"Shit!" His hand flew up to his hair which was rapidly drying.

* * *

By the time they reached Pete's, Blaine's hair was fixed in it's usual style, which Mike was amused to find he could do that without a mirror. "I can't believe you've turned me into the kind of guy who sits around in coffee shops listening to acoustic guitar versions of indie pop."

"I could play something else if you like."

"No, I like it."

"So I was thinking, you should really sign up for auditions. You should be Riff. You would be a perfect Riff." Pete handed them their coffee (Mike's complete with a post-it note) and shooed them out of the queue.

"Tina said the same thing."

Blaine clearly decided this meant he won, if the smile was anything to go by. "Obviously we must be right. I'll help you work on it. Your voice would do really well on Cool. You'll blow them away."

"Not everyone has the effect on people you do you know. I couldn't have come in as a mid year transfer to a place like Dalton and become King of the Warblers within a year. My singing is only ever going to be decent."

"I wasn't a mid year transfer. I started as a regular freshman."

"But Kurt said..."

"I didn't transfer to Dalton to run away from my bullies, I transferred there to run away from my dad. I told Kurt about the Sadie Hawkins dance before prom last year, because I wasn't sure how I would react to having those memories dragged up. I don't know if he told you?" Mike shook his head. "I came out in eighth grade, around Halloween, and when the Sadie Hawkins dance came around I went with the only other out kid at my school, we were just friends and we spent the entire night basically sitting around drinking the disgusting mango punch. We danced once, to a Katy Perry song, because she was his idol." Blaine smiled into his untouched coffee.

"After, while we were waiting for his dad to pick us up some of the guys from the lacrosse team found us." Kurt had alluded to the fact that Blaine would understand his problems better than any of them, and Mike had inferred that he meant more than just being gay, but he could feel his fingers twitching, trying to form fists around his over large cup. The idea of anyone trying to injure Blaine seemed somehow foreign because people liked Blaine damn it. That was like a law of nature. Not even the Hockey players did anything to Blaine and everyone got on board with his courtyard singing things, even when he was clearly serenading the only other openly gay kid at school.

"They basically beat the crap out of us, and I missed the rest of the semester. I slipped into a coma for a week and when I woke up they told me, James, my gay friend, had left for a private school in Illinois. My parents didn't let me leave the house over Christmas break and then they transferred me to a school two towns over. My dad told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn't going to be telling anyone at that school about it. I was shoved back in the closet. The thing is I was never aware of being in it before. I never lied and said I liked girls. You'd be surprised how often it doesn't come up. When I transferred though, it was mid year and everyone had questions and I had to lie."

"I started looking around, and I heard of Dalton from my guidance counselor and I started applying for scholarships. My dad had made it pretty clear at that point that if I was going to be gay I was going to do it behind closed doors. His son was going to be normal. I didn't want that, but I thought if I could go to Dalton, and I paid for it, he couldn't hold that over my head. I managed to get an academic scholarship that covered my books and uniforms, and I covered the rest of the tuition and boarding with a combination. Fencing and Polo made up most of it and I made up the difference with smaller ones, the really specific type that some eccentric sets up, like you have to have a Filipino parent and be active in a debate club. Even if I wanted to go back now I couldn't. I turned down the grants and my position on most of those teams has been filled."

"Wow. Wait, how far away do you live?"

"I live here."

"Why did you board at Dalton? Did things get that bad with your father?"

"I live in Lima, my parents live in Cleveland."

"You live on your own?"

"Yeah, upstairs. When I left for Dalton my dad made it pretty clear that I wasn't welcome anymore. They didn't disown me, but I also haven't spoken to them since. Whenever something needs their signatures they just sign and send. Having your son emancipated would be worse than having a gay son."

"There's nothing wrong with having a gay son. I just don't get how someone who can hate people based on that could have raised you. How do you not hate everyone?"

"My dad doesn't hate gay people by default. He's fine with them being his friends and colleagues and he's in favour of gay marriage and adoption. It's just me."

"It's not, and you know that. You're smart Blaine, I know you are. You want to carry some of the blame in that relationship because that's the only way you can fix it. If your dad isn't ok with you being gay, he's not really ok with them being gay either. Ignoring is a long way from accepting. You do know that right?"

"Yes."

"You're a good person."

"Thank you." Blaine took another swig of coffee before looking up at Mike. "So why are you mad at the New Directions?"

The abrupt change in subject startled him. "What?" He kind of assumed Tina had noticed, but he had only been friends with Blaine for a few days. Did they all know how he felt too?

"Oh come on, you just said you thought I was smart. I shared, your turn man. You didn't want to go into that room any more than I did last week. I know it's not Tina because you still get that look in your eyes every time her name is mentioned, yup that one. So what happened?"

"Sugar Motta."

"Right, Kurt told me she auditioned, but she didn't get in. I didn't hear her, but she can't have been that bad can she? I mean wouldn't you put her in extra training, like the booty camp thing?"

"It was pretty bad, but that's not the point. It was just the way everyone talked about her when she left. I kind of expect it from Rachel, she goes insane over everything and then she eventually calms down and goes with it anyway, but it was just everyone. If they hadn't been down so many members two years ago I never would have gotten in. I mean what if she's a really good dancer? She might have great ideas for competitions."

"And they never gave her a chance."

"Yeah."

"Well, she solved it I guess. Miss Corcoran is starting a rival club remember?" And yeah, that kind of made Sugar better than the both of them, because they hadn't even been outright rejected and they were still more down about it than she was. She just went and got what she wanted for herself.

"Yeah, so if you don't want to come back to us, are you joining them?"

"Nope, I'm not really eligible, besides, as of right now, you're my only friend at McKinley, becoming your competition isn't at the top of my to do list."

"Dude, you're awesome, of course you should be singing, I promise not to get mad if you beat me. Wait, what do you mean not eligible?"

"It's an all girls choir."

"Oh, yeah you're not really the honorary girl type like Kurt either. Whatever man, go talk to them, they don't have enough members either. They'd be crazy not to let you in."

"Thanks Mike."

"No problem. The whole everyone feeling welcome thing was what I liked about Glee, except the dancing, but you obviously don't feel welcome there. Clearly you love performing, and yeah your moves are all from the fifties, but they're really good."

"Hey I will have you know I have some pretty awesome disco moves too." Ok definitely his new best friend.

"Seriously? Dude we are so doing disco sometime. Britt will be happy, she keeps looking for an excuse to stick shampooing into a routine."

"Yeah, but I'm not in glee."

"Whatever, if we can use the band guys all the time and Brad, I mean I don't even think he works for the school...point is I can totally use you in routines."


	3. Chapter 3

Still not mine

* * *

"Hey Pete, Blaine up yet?" Mike greeted, attempting to untangle the scarf his mother had forced on him before he left the house.

Pete rolled his eyes. "Blaine doesn't sleep, you should know that by now, then again you aren't treated to the midnight show tunes. He is out running though, have a seat, have a cupcake." He grabbed a cupcake with purple frosting, reminding himself to add a workout to compensate for the endless baked goods, and dropping a few coins in the jar next to the cookie platter.

"So how did Blaine end up living here anyway?" He muttered, after swallowing a large bite of blueberry cupcake, watching Pete switch on machines and wipe down every surface behind the counter.

"He didn't really have anyplace to go so I told him he could stay here if he kept playing and helped out sometimes. It's a useless space up there anyway. It has a bathroom but no kitchen, no one is going to rent an apartment with no kitchen in Lima. He has to share with us down here. I keep meaning to make something of it, but better he have somewhere to stay than I have another storage space. God knows I have enough crap lying around anyway."

"Not that I don't fully agree, but that doesn't sound like something Blaine would buy. Not that I'm saying it is charity, but I'm pretty sure that's how I'd see it if I were in his situation. Doesn't he constantly bug you about things he could do to help?"

"Tried to give me his tips too, but I have a cunning plan."

"Which is?"

"No telling Blaine?"

"No telling."

"I'm going to let him believe I'll let him pay me back rent when he turns 18."

"Why 18?" He kind of doubted Blaine's tips would magically pick up on his birthday so he could pay rent.

"His parents might have disowned him now, but his grandmother wasn't having any of that. Apparently she left most everything to him. He's not going to wake up on the Fortune 500 list, but he's got a pretty healthy trust and a couple of properties waiting for him when on his birthday next year. It was a big enough deal to make him the feature of a local business mag when she went."

"But you're not going to let him pay you?"

"Not a chance in hell. He's a kid. He's not supposed to have to take care of himself, if he can or not really isn't the issue here." That was pretty cool of him of course, but Mike couldn't help but feel that this was going to lead to miscommunications ranging from awkward to angry. "I would extend the same invitation to you, with the hope that you never feel the need to take me up on it. There's always space here if you need it."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem. There's a special place in hell for parents who don't care about their kids. I've got to ask though. You're here a lot." Pete fixed him with an uncharacteristically serious look.

"Not actually a question."

Pete studied him for a moment, just long enough for Mike to start feeling slightly uncomfortable. "You're not the new beau are you?"

It took him a second to register exactly what the question was. "What? No. I have a girlfriend. I don't think there is a new guy. Is there?" Mike should be the first person to know stuff like this. Seriously, who tells their boss/landlord/father figure? before their best friend?

"I don't know. He seems unusually perky, even for him. Relax kid, it was just a theory."

"Mike!" Blaine called from the doorway, beaming at him while reaching up, attempting to untangle the bell on the door from the bit of tinsel that was inexplicably still fixed to the window.

"See? Perky." Mike ignored him.

"Good morning. I came for cupcakes, want a ride to school?"

"Did you try the raspberry ones? They're fantastic. Did you think anymore about Cool as an audition piece by the way? It would be a good way to audition the football players Coach wanted you to help as well."

"I really don't think I can audition. My dad says I need to focus more on school."

"But you love dancing." Blaine looked up at him with an uncomprehending look. "And I know you love singing too. I should shower or I'll make you late for practice." Mike realised suddenly that Blaine had actually gelled his hair to go running. He was kind of willing to admit that Blaine's style was a bit weird.

* * *

He leaned on the locker next to Tina's. "Pete thinks Blaine has a new boyfriend."

Tina looked up at him, giving him a peck before answering. "Pete from the coffee shop?" She took the offered cupcake.

"Yeah."

"And you think he's right?"

"I don't know." Mike shrugged. "Does he?"

"Sweetie, he basically only talks to you, wouldn't you be the first to know?"

"That's what I thought, but Pete says he's been really happy lately."

"You think it might be because he was feeling a bit lonely until you decided to adopt him as your new bff?"

"You think?" Mike grinned wide.

Tina smiled and shook her head. "I do. Don't forget to drag him to Brainiacs after class today. I will see you at lunch." She kissed him on the cheek before strolling away. Blaine was apparently officially acknowledged as his best friend, Mike was making him happier, and his girlfriend was, apart from being beautiful and talented, really smart. Best morning ever. His good mood lasted until lunch period, but the sad looks Blaine was shooting at the fliers for the Glee club's latest performance indicated Blaine's had not.

"Did you know I still hear it as Nude Erections every time someone says it."

The shorter boy spun around to face him, somehow managing to paste on a smile mid-spin. "How do you always know when to talk to me?"

"As warden of your mental health it's my job to know these things. Also the right time to talk to you is all the time."

One spectacularly triangular eyebrow rose in response. "Warden of what now?"

"Your mental health. Also known as your best friend." Blaine still looked mildly confused, but that quickly drowned in the beaming grin he gave at the last two words. "So, is this the point where you actually tell me what happened with Kurt?" Mike wasn't actually good at handling romantic stuff, actually Tina did most of the handling of their relationship hurdles and he kind of...participated? In spite of this, he decided he needed to figure something out, because the not talking thing clearly wasn't working for anyone.

"I'm not sure. I mean everything was great and he kept talking about how great it would be if we were at McKinley together and it was, until it just wasn't. Something happened and then all of a sudden it was like I couldn't do anything right. I kissed him good morning by his locker and he thought I was being too forward, I backed off and he thought I wasn't interested, I tried to help in glee and he said I was being attention grabbing so I tried to reign myself in a bit and then he kept saying I resented him for making me transfer. I didn't even know what was happening and then we were broken up and he doesn't want to talk to me. Sometimes, when I'm feeling less charitable, I wonder if maybe he just enjoyed the chase and then when he caught me, but I know that's not true...I just...I love him, but I don't want to get back together. I want to move on."

"I think you should." Probably? Unless he'd be happier with Kurt? He definitely shouldn't be unhappy without Kurt. Moving on seemed like a solid choice. "I also think you need to eat lunch more often. Now for instance. Lunchtime is a good time for lunch."

"I can't, I need to practice for my jazz band audition."

"You also have to eat. Practice in the cafeteria."

"I can't just start playing in the cafeteria."

"Yeah you can. You know why? Because you are somehow, even without having any actual friends other than me, popular. Not that I don't think you should be, but it's weird."

"I'm not. No one knows who I am here, and if they did they'd dislike me as much as they seem to hate the rest of you guys."

"It's almost funny how oblivious you are. Everyone knows who you are. You sang Tom Jones in front of the entire school on your first day, that's one hell of an entrance, and people applauded. You know what happened when we all sang? They threw food at us. People like you dude. Accept it as the gift it is."

"Fine, I'll play in the cafeteria."

Mike was already leading him in the right direction with one arm slung around his shoulders. "And eat, don't forget to eat."

"And eat. Explain to me why everyone keeps telling me you're quiet and shy?"

"Because they also know Kurt and Rachel and Santana."

"So what you're saying is it's all just relative?"

"Yeah, most of those people would probably call you quiet too, not shy though, again, Tom Jones in the courtyard. It was pretty epic, also it ended with a flaming piano."

"That wasn't me."

"No, but the rest of the school still thinks it was deliberate I think. Part of the act, you know." Blaine froze on the spot, causing Mike to swing around slightly.

"Do the band people think that? I would never harm an instrument!" He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well I mean I sometimes end up on top of pianos, but I don't mean to, it kind of just happens, and I wouldn't do it if it damaged it."

"Relax, you'll be fine. By the way, a lot of people still think you're a cheerio, which I guess you could be, I mean the guys don't really wear the uniforms most days, don't ask me why. Probably because it's more socially acceptable than actually cool to be a male cheerleader, even if they are champions. So are the band guys looking for a new guitar?"

"Um, no." He held up the case in his hands and Mike suddenly realised how distinctly un-guitar shaped it was.

"What is that?" Mike almost smacked himself as soon as the question left his mouth, being that the case was very much shaped like the saxophone he assumed it contained.

"I play the saxophone, tenor."

"Nice."

"Yeah, they let me borrow it for the day so I could rehearse."

"Get set up, I'll get you something to eat. Tina's meeting us here." Blaine handed over his wallet, and that was one of those habits they should probably talk about at some point, because Mike didn't really agree that real world experience needed to include facing violent bullies, but Dalton may or may not have convinced Blaine that schools were crime free zones.

"I don't think she likes me."

Mike snorted and waved his hand dismissively. He had decided this was the best way to deal with Blaine's irrational insecurities for now, until he'd managed to find out the cause (he'd probably need Tina for that bit), at which point he was going to maim the cause (possibly with the help of Santana). "Of course you don't. You don't think anyone likes you. We've already established you're delusional." Blaine seemed to consider arguing but Mike was already joining the line for food so he settled on sticking a fresh reed in his mouth and removing the shiny brass instrument from its case.

As he attached the reed he looked up to see his friend rearranging the plates on his two trays to fit the three drinks the lunch lady was trying to hand him.  
Blaine was about to set his sax down and go over to help him when the taller boy shoved one of the juice bottles into his bag and started heading toward the table next to Blaine.


	4. Chapter 4

Not mine.

* * *

Blaine would be the worst ninja ever. It's one of the many things they don't have in common, and it's not even because he'd be bad at the fighting or the climbing or any of the physical aspects really. He has this kind of awkward grace and he could probably learn...probably. It's the sneaking. He can be quiet, he's usually quiet when he's not singing actually, so he can hear everything, but he can't not be noticed. Mike likes to think he could be a great ninja if he didn't have some pretty big issues with killing people, but Blaine has a presence that will probably turn into gravitas when he gets older and can't enter a room without people seeing him.

Blaine also doesn't have a mental filter apparently. It's not that he says a lot of inappropriate things, or even that he seems to regret saying them, he just has reflexive responses that are triggered by key phrases. Mike doesn't like to talk before thinking, and as a result often doesn't talk. Mike had been sitting in the library with Blaine and two girls who were in their calculus class when he noticed Blaine's lack of filtering. The two girls had been chatting about one of their relationships, the boyfriend had apparently said something about the girl's weight, or something about her clothes that she had inferred had to do with her weight, it wasn't entirely clear. Mike barely had time to frown, much less formulate a response to the frankly absurd claim that she was getting fat, before he heard Blaine's voice, as earnest as ever, from his left.

"You are a beautiful girl and you should never have to worry about that. I'm sure Tom didn't mean anything by it and if he did then you certainly deserve better." She swooned, as did her friend, and Blaine smiled and turned to ask Mike if _sin x over 2 pi_ sounded right for 24b. It sounded earnest, it also sounded like a compulsion, like he just had to say it. Mike wondered if it was a product of training by someone else or if it was Blaine's own internal need to be liked that forced him to say things like that for about five minutes until Anna and Sarah left and he made himself approach the subject he'd been avoiding for two days.

"Remember when you told me about James?" Blaine paused slightly before finishing the solution and setting his pen down.

"Of course I do. I don't actually make a habit of discussing the worst nights of my life." Blaine looked up at him as he shifted uncomfortably. "You looked him up didn't you? Don't worry, I know." Mike felt a bit guilty because he was relieved. He had been avoiding the subject because he hadn't known how to tell Blaine his friend was dead. "I figured out they were lying to me when he didn't respond to any of my texts so I checked online and found the article about us. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. They were kids and it was a playground brawl gone wrong. They all spent time in juvie. None of them went back to the same school, split up all over the state. I met one of them at a boxing meet last year, he goes to West Lima High."

"Tell me you beat his brains in?"

"Violence is never the answer." It was clearly another reflex answer and he seemed to register what he'd said a second after it left his mouth. He blushed when Mike laughed. "He was a heavyweight, I wasn't anywhere near him. He looked like he saw a ghost when he saw me. Luke beat him pretty good though, he's a Warbler, our best beatboxer." Mike didn't mention how Blaine still considered the Warblers to be his in a way he didn't think the McKinley kids would ever be, even if he did join glee (one club or the other). "He apologised after the meet. I forgave him."

"You did?"

"It felt good. I was better, I'd moved on and I just felt like, if I could let him move on too...It felt like taking a step toward the kind of person I wanted to be. I won't lie though, I did enjoy seeing Luke break his nose first. I'm not about to become his best friend, but if I see him on the street I can nod and wave and not turn back into a scared thirteen year old and he can wave back or ignore me, I don't really care which, but we're both better off."

* * *

Mike walks Tina to sewing club because it's Tuesday and heads for the auditorium after his last class. He turns around five times bad wanders back and forth and finally settles across from Blaine at his table in the quad. "I can't do this."

Blaine flips his worn leather-bound book closed and fixes Mike with his serious look. It's the one he uses when he wants Mike to know he's thought before responding. "Yes you can."

Mike almost gets up but his legs twitch and he slumps back into his seat, head falling down onto Blaine's gloved hand instead of the metal table he expected. "No." He sits up, wringing his hands and tapping his feet and he knows he's giving off all kinds of nervous signals but he can't stop moving.

Blaine grabs his hand and his look goes from 'I mean this' to 'this is a matter of life and death'. Blaine thinks a lot of things are life and death but somehow the look makes Mike listen anyway. "Just think about how proud Tina will be. Also how happy Coach Bieste will be when she sees the football players dance. You're going to be awesome and amazing and everyone is going to be speechless." He considers his words for a second before adding an addendum to his promise. "Except me, I am very rarely speechless, but I am going to be gushing over your awesome. Now go; you're already running late." He does manage to stand up this time, and he manages to get himself to the auditorium in a daze. He doesn't really remember singing and only vaguely remembers the comments that followed but everyone is smiling so Mike forces his face to try to do the same.

By the time Mike steps off stage, blood still rushing through his ears, muffling the world around him, Blaine is waiting in the wings, beaming and apparently torn between covering his mouth and applauding if the strange half clapping motion in front of his face is anything to go by.

"I told you you'd be amazing!" His voice is significantly higher than usual as he pulls Mike into a crushing hug. "I barely remembered to cue the dancers, that's how good you were." Blaine's phone buzzes and he pulls it out. He grins down at the text and throws his arms around Mike again. "Tina is hugging you from sewing club right now."

"Ok. Did she say if she was going to be done soon?" They're at Mike's locker before he has time to think and he finds himself trying to remember what homework he was supposed to be writing down while he was going over his lyrics in his head all day. History is usually a safe bet.

"Ten minutes, and she has stuff we need to carry for her, I think for the costumes. Oh, also Pete says there are celebratory cookies waiting for you behind the counter."

"Are they pecan?" He requests pecan most of the time, they're Tina's favourite.

Blaine shakes his head, taking the History book from Mike's hands and placing it back into the locker and taking out the Calculus book instead. Mike tucks it into his backpack. "Nope, these are for you. Macadamia. Don't worry, I'll find a pecan for Tina."

"Awesome."

* * *

Blaine was unhappy. Mike knew this because of the frankly enormous eyes directed at him from across the table. "I'm an attention whore." It was said with a tone that suggested that this was a new and unwelcome realisation.

"No you're not. Did someone call you that? Because that is not an ok thing to call people."

"No, they didn't use that word, but they're right. I keep doing these things. The playing in the cafeteria and I auditioned for Tony and Miss Corcoran's glee club. I basically took over the Warblers. I didn't even notice I was doing it I had to be told and how long have I been doing things like that?" Blaine's voice was level for someone who was clearly going through some kind of internal panic attack. It was a bit strange how he could managed to convey hyperventilation as an emotion without actual... well hyperventilation.

"Who is they? Kurt and Finn? I made you play in the cafeteria and people enjoyed it and from what I heard the Warblers love you." Also these were old issues, clearly the new addition was the Tony audition, which Mike hadn't seen but Tina had loved and Artie had spent most of their Halo night yesterday waxing lyrical about.

"You auditioned for Bernardo, you're good, they wanted you for Tony."

"I should have said no. Kurt needed that role for his NYADA application." Blaine was not moving on, or at least had not moved on yet. The awkwardness between Kurt and Blaine was so palpable Mike actually found himself lingering behind corners in order to not be in the same hallway as the both of them on some occasions as they shot each other guilty looks. He had gathered that Kurt felt guilty about convincing Blaine to come to McKinley, only to have the relationship fail so quickly, and that Blaine felt guilty, possibly about attempting to steal Kurt's friends and/or lime-light, or possibly about the failing of the relationship, Mike wasn't sure. Probably both.

More to the point he now clearly felt guilty about the play, which he was going to have to get over "Blaine, him not being right for a role is not your fault, and it's going to happen again. Everyone knows Kurt is good, but they didn't want him for Tony, because quite frankly he and Rachel couldn't pass for a couple if their lives depended on it."

"He's a great actor. Wait did Rachel get cast? I thought they were going to dual cast Mercedes and her?" Mike tapped his fingers against the table, sensing the loss of focus as Blaine mentally planned his congratulatory and condolence notes. Mike should remember to talk him out of that last one, Mercedes wouldn't be impressed.

"Not every actor can play every role and you know it. If they could there would be no casting directors. You look like Tony, you sound like Tony, the part calls for a tenor, which you are, you can muster up chemistry with a girl. You and Kurt are weird right now, and this might make you weirder, but you earned the role, and you're going to play it, and besides, you're my friend remember? I am your Riff. Artie told me I got it." And that distracted him.

"I told you you could do it." Mike was so going to get a note too, and it was going to be fancy script and probably come with flowers.

"Yeah. So, promise to cry when I die?"

"Every night and twice on weekends." A shadow fall across Blaine's face and he turns toward the newcomer.

"Out of curiosity, does it actually do anything for either of you when you reassure each other? Because you kind of constantly do it, and as cute as it is, you both still don't believe you can do anything right ever." Tina rolled her eyes at them.

"Tina," Blaine smiled as he took the pile of fabric she handed him and stood up. "you look great today."

"Ok, let's pretend that was my question. My point was, you are going to have to start believing you're good at some point, before you become insanely co-dependant. Bonding over your, completely irrational by the way, insecurities, is cute, but let's try to keep some perspective. It would be nice if you could retain some confidence off stage."

"I love you."

"On the other hand you are a massive ego boost. I love you too."

"You two are so adorable together."

"Blaine, go to sewing club."

"I'm not in sewing club."

"No, but you can choose either going to sewing club now, or you can strip right here. I need your measurements. I have basically everyone else's from competitions. Although you should be warned, Finn has tried wandering around school in his underwear and they didn't take too kindly to it."

"Why would he...?" Tina made a grab for his shirt which Blaine clearly didn't interpret as a joke. "I'm going! Where do you want me to put this stuff?"

"On a table, I haven't decided what to do with it yet."


End file.
